Page 40 of Stoney Gazes for Helpful Gorgons

"You should look in the mirror," I whisper as I watch the colour of his face change. Gone is the pale skin I'm used to looking at, replaced by grey stone.

He gets up and heads to the bathroom in the corner of my room, his eyes widening as he takes in his reflection. "Well, I knew it was going to be a good kiss, but that good?"

I laugh. "It's nothing to do with the kiss, you're probably just feeling relaxed enough to access your magic properly again."

"True. Stand back, I need to test it."

I frown, confused about why he might need space until his whole body turns to stone right in front of my eyes. That part is all the same size as before, but the huge stone wings that now fill my room are a different matter.

"Wow," I whisper.

"Impressive, right?" he asks, sounding like his normal self, which is a bit confusing. I think I expected his voice to change to go along with the stone encasing.

"Can I touch them?" I know I shouldn't ask, but all I want to do now I can see them is run my fingers along the stone.

He nods and turns around.

I reach out, my hand shaking slightly as I touch the top of them. The stone is as hard as I expect it to be, but it's warm as if it's been out in the sun all day.

"Can you fly?" I ask.

"Yes, though only for short distances, the wings aren't really made for longer than that." He turns back around so he's facing me. It's weird to see his normal features made from stone, though his expressions remain the same.

I can't imagine it's anything like seeing someone encased in stone after encountering gorgon magic.

"Thank you," he says, catching my hand in his.

"I didn't do anything."

"That's not true at all." His skin ripples and returns to its normal shade while his wings retract into his back. "You helped me regain my proper form."

"Hardly, you're immune to gorgon magic, and even if you weren't, people don't turn into stone from kissing a gorgon."

"No, it's nothing to do with your gorgon magic. It's just you." He steps closer and pulls me to him. "You've been there for me in a way no one else could have been, you've listened to me talk about my dad and you were the one who suggested I talked to my grandparents. You've helped me shed a weight that's been on me since my mum died. And I'm not saying that everything is magically better because of course it isn't, there's still so far to go, especially where my dad is concerned, but everything just seems a little more manageable now."

"I know what you mean," I whisper. "You've helped me too."

"I'm glad." His hand is on my waist and his eyes bore into mine without a hint of fear about my magic. Even if he is immune to it, that still feels like an immense thing, and not a situation I expected to find myself in.

"Where does this leave us?" I ask.

"Wherever we want it to. But if that offer of coming to Greece for a week is still on the table, I like the idea of that."

"As my friend?"

"Is that what you want me to go as?" he asks.

"No." The word hangs between us for a moment. "I want to tell them you're my boyfriend."

"Does that mean I'll be able to stay in your room?"

I snort. "Definitely not. If anything, it'll mean that we end up with a guard outside the door. But that's not the point."

"It isn't," he agrees.

"So, is that a yes?"

"Yes. But maybe we should start with an unchaperoned date," he suggests.